Welcome to Germany Meets Slovenia: A Forum for Young Leaders, a program, designed for and aimed at Germans and Slovenians, hosted by the ICD in partnership with the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other leading organizations. The principal focus of “Germany Meets Slovenia: A Forum for Young Leaders” is to develop both a real and a virtual network of young leaders committed to building and sustaining lasting ties between Germany and Slovenia in the fields of politics, academia, science, media, business and culture, thereby strengthening the bilateral relationship. The network is supported through a diverse range of ongoing activity and is highlighted each year by a weeklong study tour for new members, which alternates between Slovenia and Germany.

As an independently developed and organized program, GMS offers a unique opportunity for institutes and companies and their aspiring leaders to come together and foster wider, deeper German-Slovenian relations on a business, cultural and political level. This in turn will develop a wider understanding of intercultural issues, promote personal growth, and contribute to the creation of innovative policy-oriented solutions to issues affecting both countries.

Participants are asked to take a role in supporting the network. In particular, they are encouraged to organize so called “Leadership Initiatives.” A Leadership Initiative is any program or event organized by one of the participants that contributes to the strengthening of the German-Slovenian relationship.

The participants> – Who are the Young Leaders? Young Leaders can be characterised as the decision makers and opinion leaders of tomorrow. They arise from the public, private, and academic sectors and have a unique vision for the future, as well as the courage and the necessary commitment to realise their ideas. Thus, the Young Leaders feature a strong development potential, as well as the ability to be actively involved in the future formation of society. A fundamental interest in the exchange of culture and ideas is more important than previous contact or experience with the respective countries.

GMS Objectives • To establish a long-term, interdisciplinary network of young leaders that contributes on both a professional and personal level to exchange between Slovenia and Germany. • To educate, enhance, and sustain the German-Slovenian relationship through the empowerment of the participants. • To support valuable contributions to civil society in both Germany and Slovenia through “Leadership Initiatives” that the young leaders will organize as part of the program. • To provide the participants with fresh insights and new perspectives to deepen their understanding of the economic, political, cultural, religious, and social frameworks of the two countries. • To strengthen professional, economical, cultural, political, and scientific cooperation through close personal and professional relationships.

Weeklong Symposiums for Young Leaders At the heart of the program is the personal exchange at yearly summits. These will take place at regular intervals in both participating nations. A group of 24 individuals (ideally equal numbers of participants 12 from each country) will travel for one week through one of the respective countries. The program of the yearly study tours (each year - 1 in Germany and 1 in Slovenia) consists of multiple components: • Guest speakers representing business, government, academics and technology; • Exposure to various aspects of national and regional culture; • Formal discussions among the participants, with individual participants leading dialogue in their respective fields; • Informal discussions amongst the group of young leaders; A high-profile conference on a carefully selected topic that is both relevant and current.

This program will yield intense discussion over issues pertinent to both Slovenia and Germany, as well as to the wider context within which the relationship is set.

Leadership Initiatives To ensure sustainability, the program will focus on long-term involvement of the participants. This primarily includes regular contact between members, along with coordination and support during the Leadership Initiatives, which will be documented on the ICD website.

All network members will be encouraged to continue participation in these Leadership Initiatives. These will include projects under direct responsibility of the Young Leaders that have been developed during the Study Tour, as well as active participation and support of public events and conferences throughout the year-long program.

The Initiatives will create awareness of the goals of the forum within local communities and ideally will implement the Forum concept into the reality of this society. Furthermore, they will simultaneously strengthen the Forum network and maintain the goals of the program

Certificate of Attendance All seminar participants will be awarded an official certificate of attendance upon completion of the program, which will provide details of the speakers who took part and the topics discussed. Each certificate will be signed by members of the ICD's Advisory Board (The ICD Advisory Board list can be found (here)).

Participant Papers >> The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy encourages research and progressive thought into the fields of culture, globalization, and international relations. In this regard, the ICD welcomes participants of the Conference to submit papers on this subject. The papers can cover any topic within these fields, according to your own particular interests and passions. Participants can submit work that they have completed in the past for other purposes, ongoing research or a paper written specifically for the conference. Groups of students are also allowed to submit collaborative pieces of work.

Sustainable Network >> Conference participants will become part of a growing international network of people from across the world with different fields of interest and levels of experience, who share a commitment to intercultural exchange. Participants will be able to remain in touch with each other through the ICD Networks.

The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy is an international, not-for-profit, non-governmental organization with headquarters in Berlin, Germany. The goal of the ICD is to promote global peace and stability through strengthening and supporting intercultural relations at all levels. Over the past decade the ICD has grown to become one of Europe’s largest independent cultural exchange organizations, whose programs facilitate interaction between individuals of all cultural, academic, and professional backgrounds, from across the world.

In January 2011 the ICD hosted "The Future of US Foreign Policy" (Washington DC, January 4th-6th), which hosted The Honorable Michael Chertoff - Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security; Senator William Emerson Brock III - 18th United States Secretary of Labor; Admiral James Milton Loy - Former United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security; Former Commandant of the Coast Guard; Vivian Schiller - CEO and President of NPR; Governor William Weld - Former Governor of Massachusettsand The Hon. Senator Tim Hutchinson - Former United States Senator from Arkansas.

In November 2010 the ICD hosted “A World without Walls: An International Conference on Peacebuilding, Reconciliation and Globalization in an Interdependent World”, which marked the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (www.world-without-walls.org). Speakers in this event included Lord Anthony Giddens (Baron Giddens, of Southgate) - Professor Emeritus at the London School of Economics; Former Director of the London School of Economics; Janez Janša - Former Prime Minister of Slovenia; Joaquim Chissano - Former President of Mozambique; Former Chairperson of the African Union; and Lord Jack McConnell - Former First Minister of Scotland.

In May 2010 the ICD hosted The International Symposium on Cultural Diplomacy 2010 (www.icd-interantionalsymposium.org ). Speakers in this event included Bertie Ahern - Former Prime minister of Ireland; Emil Constantinescu - ICD Advisory Board Member - Former President of Romania; Sir Malcolm Rifkind - Former Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom; Kjell Magne Bondevik - Former Prime Minister of Norway; and Dr. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga - ICD Advisory Board Member - Former President of Latvia.

For more information on speakers who have attended previous ICD events, please click here.